The Acquisition of Interpersonal Cognitive Problem Solving Skill in Adolescent Parents.

This research examined the acquisition of interpersonal cognitive problem solving skill in the adolescent parent population. Two questions were studied: (1) Could adolescent parents acquire problem solving skills as a result of brief 10 hour training, and (2) Would successful acquisition of problem solving skill result in positive social adjustment changes? In two experiments, adolescent parents who were enrolled as students in a special school received problem solving training during a 5 or 10 week period. In both experiments students acquired problem solving skill as measured by st and ard measures (Means-End Problem Solving Test and Alternative Thinking Test). However, regardless of whether teachers, parents, or students rated social adjustment on a variety of measures, no differences were found between the treatment and control group in both experiments. Furthermore, the level of problem solving skill was not significantly correlated with social adjustment in this population. Explanations for the unchanged social adjustment scores included the possibility that training was not long enough or powerful enough to overcome the hardships of adolescent parenthood. Suggestions to include social support as a dimension of future research were explored.PhDPsychologyUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/160704/1/8520954.pd